Guu with Garlic

Rich Guy was supposed to be leaving on Thursday; but extended his stay for another 2 weeks. This seems to be a reoccurring theme. That's why we quit throwing him going away parties. He would leave, then come back, leave, comeback and so on. Soon he had a stash of going away gifts and many free dinners. We were wondering if he just doing it for all the freebies. No wonder he is a Rich Guy! Tonight, Vandelay and I took him out to celebrate his birthday since he is rarely here on the date itself. At least we think it's his birthday... Rich Guy likes Izakaya; so we headed off to Guu with Garlic. Much like the other locations (with the exception of Aberdeen), it's small and very busy. We ended up waiting for about half an hour. The table we got was a small table for 2. That really wasn't the problem; rather, we had to sit on the floor. I haven't sat this much cross-legged on the floor since Elementary.

In Japan, Izakayas are not normally a place where you'd eat dinner because it is mostly intended for drinks and small bites after work. It's a similar to how we find big plates of pasta for one person here whereas in Italy, they would share it. Let's just say that food gets interpreted differently here for the local market. Thus, to actually get full off of Izakaya food, we ordered 11 dishes to share. Normally, in a place such as Kingyo and Hapa, you'd be looking at quite the hefty bill afterwards. However, at Guu, the prices are more reasonable and the portions are decent. Gyoza King, which is a block away is quite similar in pricing as well; but they are super busy and the wait for a table might take even longer.

We started with the Fakahire Kurage (Shark's Fin Salad) which is essentially faux shark's fin (vermicelli) and jellyfish marinated in a sweet
sesame dressing. Basically, this dish is an examination in textures rather than flavour since shark's fin and jellyfish do not have much taste on their own. A bit chewy and crunchy, it was lightly seasoned; a great way to start off the meal. Also, you will only find this dish at Guu with Garlic, the other Guus do not serve it. The Kimchi Udon was next and I was a bit apprehensive since I did not enjoy a similar dish at Hapa. The addition of cod roe made that particular dish a bit fishy and slimy. This time around, it was better here at Guu; but still not my favourite. At least the udon were not slimy in this instance. Next up was the Gindara (Black Cod) which is marinated in miso, grilled and topped with mayo. The fish was buttery soft and had just enough flavour that it did not overwhelm the fish. I didn't think the mayo added much to the dish since black cod itself is an oily fish.

One of my favs is Takoyaki and naturally I had to order it. Fluffy on the inside with pieces of tender octopus and slightly crisp on the outside. There was just enough sauce and mayo with bonito flakes and nori. Another favourite that I ordered was the Ebi Mayo. The shrimp were plump and fried up nicely with a huge pool of mayo on the bottom. I'm glad it was not on the top. I like some mayo; but not so much that you cannot even see the ebi. Rich Guy ordered both the Salmon and Beef Carpaccios. I originally wanted a Beef Yuke; but I didn't see it on the menu. Didn't matter anyways, Rich Guy did not want raw beef and raw eggs together. The salmon carpaccio was good, the fish was fresh and the light soy dressing didn't detract from natural sweetness. I liked the plum dressing for the beef carpaccio, it added nice sweetness to the tender slices of meat.

We also got the Okonomi Yaki, which in this
case was a seafood and veggie pancake. It's pan fried and dressed in a tonkatsu sauce with wasabi mayo. This was a pretty standard version. I would've preferred that it was a bit fluffier; but it tasted good nonetheless. At this stage, we had a bit more room left in our appetites and ordered 3 more dishes. Vandelay really wanted the Buta No Kakuni or stewed pork belly with egg. This is not a dish if you were watching your weight. Yet, there is nothing better than tender pork belly. This reminded me of the Chinese version which is accompanied by pickled mustard greens. The stewing liquid helped bring a sweetness and richness to the belly. The soft boiled egg was a nice treat at the end. Although, it was a bit difficult to share. Imagine splitting a runny egg amongst 3 people. I've seen deep fried chicken knees before; but this is the first time I've ever ordered Deep Fried Chicken Cartilage. It consisted of deep fried breast bone cartilage and was served with roasted salt. It was indeed interesting; but didn't really encourage me to order it ever again. The last dish was the Unagi Meshi or eel rice with cucumber, egg topped with a kabayaki sauce (which is basically unagi sauce).
The rice was firm, the unagi plentiful and the cucumber gave a nice crunch.

Once again, another solid meal at Guu. So far, it seems that this location is the better compared to the Richmond and Thurlow locations. I have yet to try the Gastown one; but you know I will! As for my legs, they were numb after sitting in an awkward position all through the meal. However, I was pretty pleased with the food and the incessant yelling of orders from the wait staff (it's how they do it here). For me, that erases all thoughts of pain.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices
- A good selection of items (that are different at every location of Guu)
- Not incredibly dark like other Izakayas (but I'm sure some like it dark)

The Bad:
- As with many Izakayas, not the most comfortable seating arrangements
- Long lines, unless you have a reservation

Red Chilli Szechuan

With Viv being busy with work, it was my duty to take our daughter to her music lessons. Granted, at only 2, her lessons are merely singing songs and randomly hitting musical instruments. Hey, they have to start somewhere! It's good I don't really have any shame left since we had to sing songs and the sort for this class. After it was over, I wasn't going to let an opportunity to eat pass me over. Well, I am on the North Shore and there are some pretty good eats, especially along Lonsdale. One place I have been eying for quite a long time has been the Red Chilli Szechuan restaurant.

If you have kids, then you'll know that eating out with a 2-year old requires moving the entire house with you. With diaper bag, portable booster, cooler bag and my camera on one shoulder/arm, and daughter in the other, I stumbled into the restaurant. I guess it's not often a dad takes his young daughter out for lunch because the staff and patrons were all giving me the smiles. Luckily for me, she was well-behaved and I had enough play items in the diaper bag to keep her occupied.

In addition to the food I was planning to eat, I had to pick up a few items for Viv as well. When I started to list off the items, it began to concern the server. I assure her it was not all for me; but I was gonna try them all! We started off with the Cold Shredded Chicken with Peanut and Garlic Sauce. The chicken was perfectly tender and a bit gelatinous; but the plethora of chicken skin turned me off. Believe me, the chicken skin was good, there was just too much of it. The flavourful dressing gave a nice aromatic sweet and nuttiness to the dish. I got the Meat Tan Tan Noodles for myself and I'm not even sure that would be the right name for the dish. To me, it resembled Ja Jeun Mein (Spicy Meat Sauce Noodles). Whatever the case, I really like it. The noodles were al dente and the meat sauce had depth and was slightly spicy with plenty of meat.

For Viv, I got a Szechuan Beef Noodle to go. I also got the non-spicy Beef Noodle as well since it would probably be too much for my daughter. Again, the noodles were cooked perfectly, although the broth was a bit weak. There was a decent amount of tender beef and spinach. The Szechuan version is essentially the same with a spicy broth. Admittedly, I really didn't order some of the spicier ssignature items which one would associate with a Szechuan restaurant. That's partly due to my eating partner, a 2-year old! Thus, this probably was my mistake in ordering the Xiao Long Bao. Yes, it is a Shanghainese dish, not a Szechuan dish. Predictably, they were not that great. The dumpling skin was too thick and there was not that much in the way of soup within. Despite this, I was quite pleased with my meal here and it definitely deserves a second look on my part. I'll probably come for dinner and get some Orange Peal Beef and Spicy Prawns. Oh, and since I had to add leftovers to the amount of items I needed to take to my car, the manager actually helped me take everything out. What a nice guy.

The Good:
- The food I tried was pretty good
- It's clean

The Bad:
- Prices seem a bit high
- Place is small

Cascade Room

I've been looking forward to this hockey game for awhile. Tonight, the only 2 undefeated teams were going to battle it out. It was a pretty even game and both teams were playing well. The final score was 1-0 for us. Yes, I got a shutout; but the other team also hit 4 posts. Let's just say if I were to have irregularity issues later, it's due to the horseshoes stuck up my a**. After the game, I had a list of places that we could go to grab some eats. Of course, it amused everyone that I would actually have a list of restaurants with all their closing times. Moreover, I had a wide variety of cuisines so that we had choice. Silent Bob finally spoke up (is that an oxymoron?) and suggested that we go for North American cuisine. He's not into the wonton noodle thing after hockey. I would tend to agree, it just doesn't seem right... We decided (with my persuasiveness) to head to the Cascade Room on Main Street. If you've even driven by, you can't miss the big neon signage in the front.

Not really knowing if there was dessert, I promised Ketchup and Sweet Tooth that there was indeed dessert. I crossed my fingers in hopes that my calculated guess was right, otherwise I'd have 2 angry ladies in my midst. When we all arrived, there were no tables and we considered heading to another destination. Ketchup and Sweet Tooth suggested we head to Burgoo up the street. However, I was sure it closed at 10:00. A quick call confirmed this. I really must have issues, I know all the closing times of random restaurants? Shortly after that, our waiting paid off and we got a nice cozy table. At first, the menus did not have any desserts whatsoever. I was beginning to sweat. Just as I was preparing myself for Sweet Tooth to run me over with her Land Rover, a dessert menu appeared! Saved! For myself, I had no interest in sweets. Rather, Boss Woman and I shared a Sausage Pizza (somehow that doesn't sound right...) and Calamari. The pizza was pretty good. Crust was thin, not oily and a bit chewy. There was no shortage of meat on the pizza which ultimately made it robust and hearty. On the other hand, the calamari was a bit disappointing. Most of it was in massive clumps of batter which was not all that crispy. At least there was lots of it (not sure if that was a good thing) and the squid itself was tender.

Both Silent Bob and Milhouse had the Pemberton Meadows Burger. Both thought it was cooked perfectly and juicy despite not appearing to be. There was a large portion of crunchy fries served with the burger. Milhouse substituted his fries for Polenta Fries at a cost of $2.00 more. Rocket also had the polenta fries and she offered to share some. I think I ate at least 3 of them because they were so good. And when I say 3, it was substantial because those suckers were huge! Fried crispy on the outside and extremely fluffy on the inside, these were a fan favourite. Lionel Hutz went for the Tagliatelle Amatriciana which surely looked good when it arrived. Luckily it arrived while he was in the washroom, I took advantage of it. I took multiple pictures which I normally do not get to do with his food. He thought the pasta was pretty good with al dente noodles and a plethora of tender pork cheek pieces.

Ketchup only joined us for one thing - dessert. She chose the Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream. It had an intoxicating aroma but the actual cake was only so-so. Not really all that moist or chocolaty, this was a miss. Sweet Tooth got the Creme Brulee with Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. This was better with a crunchy top and soft custard. Although there was supposed to be Bailey's, she didn't detect any. Furthermore, we weren't sure how the cookies complimented the brulee other than than a textural contrast. However, most of us agreed that the Cascade Room is a decent place to grab some eats. Prices are reasonable, food is generally decent and there is an extensive drinks menu.

The Good:
- Huge drinks menu
- Reasonably-priced
- Trendy, comfortable and good service

The Bad:
- Some misses with the food

Poco Ocean

I haven't been to Poco Ocean since my days in Coquitlam and that was over 10 years ago. At the last blogger's meal, we "pressured" Jenny (My Secret Eden) into organizing a dinner. She was raving about her meal at Poco Ocean and sensing an opportunity to shirk responsibility, Kim and I threw the organizing torch over to her. She graciously took the reigns. However, either people were busy or they just didn't want to drive out to Coquitlam, there were only 5 of us including Jenny, R, Anita, Kim and myself. So why Coquitlam and particularly this restaurant? Well, legend has it that the Governor of Hong Kong's former chef runs the place. Thus, you know the food should be of a certain quality, even if the place is modest in size and appearance.

Honestly, I'm not sure why people always complain that Coquitlam is far away. C'mon, if you lived in L.A., a 1/2 hour drive is nothing. Well, at least those were the complaints I got when I lived in Coquitlam. Maybe they just didn't want to see me! That explains everything... Anyways, Kim picked me up along the way and I became his personal GPS again. Too bad I can't replicate the voice, "in... 400 metres, make a right... at the fork...". We were a little late arriving and it probably put a scare into Jenny. Imagine, a blogger's dinner with only one blogger! That would be my nightmare. Well, maybe not, probably eating again at Kawawa would be scarier! We had to rely on Jenny to do the ordering because she is the only one who can read Chinese. You see, there is a daily menu up on the wall that is purely written in Chinese only. Sure, there is an English menu; but all you'd find in that is Sweet 'n Sour Pork and Lemon Chicken. We wanted the real Chinese food!

We started with the Honey Garlic Chicken wings and don't get these confused with the ones you'd find in a pub. These babies were not battered, crisp, hot and had only enough sauce to flavour them. A bit sweet, a tad savory and garlicky, this was a nice way to start the meal. Up next was a very large Braised Pork Hock. It was pretty tender with a fatty; yet delicious skin. The oyster-based sauce was not too salty and the dish was quite pleasant to eat. The next dish was probably the star of the meal - Three Cup Chicken. A little salty, a little sweet and a bit tart, the pieces of chicken were very tender and I wanted to eat more of it (that's a indication that it's good). The dish was further enhanced by the serving vessel which was a sizzling hot pot.

Served on a sizzling hot plate, the Silky Tofu with Scallops and Mushrooms was both hit and miss. I really liked the soft fried tofu while I disliked the fishy tasting scallops. In fact, the taste of the scallops ruined this dish. I realize that Poco Ocean is a small restaurant and it would be fiscally impossible to acquire fresh scallops every day. However, if it ain't fresh and it detracts from the overall flavour profile of a dish, do not serve it. In fact, this dish would've been fine without them. The Stir Fried Green Beans with Snow Cabbage and Mushrooms was an interesting dish. I've never seen this combination before. It was not bad; but nothing about it stood out. I think the beans might've been oil blanched a bit too long as well.

The last dish was the Fish and Tofu Hot Pot. Usually a staple of any Chinese restaurant's menu, this one was a really good version of the dish. The fish was meaty while soft. Moreover, there was just enough batter, meaning there was more fish to eat. The tofu, like the other dish, was soft and fried perfectly. Flavour wise, the dish had plenty of garlic flavour. A tad salty; but it's a whole lot better than being bland. Went well with the rice though.

Overall, a pretty good meal. I generally liked all the dishes other than the one with the fishy scallops. Compared to a recent meal at another Chinese restaurant, I can really tell the difference between the two. No comparison. Of course no meal is perfect and this one is no exception. With that being said, it was solid and I enjoyed it (especially with the good company).

The Good:
- Food is well-seasoned
- Textures were spot on
- Some interesting dishes you won't find on any other menu

The Bad:
- A bit pricey
- Service is a bit slow, due to it being a family-run restaurant with limited staff
- It's closed intermittently

2001 Flavours Pizza

I finally made it out to 2001 Flavours Pizza. Normally, I'm not in downtown and I took the opportunity that we were nearby to pay it a visit. Honestly, we were not hungry after 4 tacos each from La Taqueria. But I had promised Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food!) that I was going to try it and compare it with my personal favourite: Uncle Fatih's. Luckily for me, Vandelay tagged along since I did not have any cash on me. He seems to always have cash on him, I guess his money management is a lot better than mine.

The place was rather busy when we arrived; but I was still able to snag a window seat. Mind you, with windows on 2 sides of the restaurant, lighting was not going to be an issue. For once, it could be too much light! To give the place a fair shake, we decided to go for the 2 special pizzas rather than the regular choices. We got one each of the Spinach, Artichoke, Sundried Tomatoes & Feta Cheese and the Black Forest Ham, Tomatoes & Swiss Cheese. My first impressions were that the slices are not devoid of toppings. In fact, the pizza slices were a bit heavy. The crust itself was thin and not oily at all.

We both agreed that the ham pizza was better, partly because we are not vegetarians. The salty ham gave the pizza more of a robust flavour. However, the spinach pizza was overloaded with toppings to the point where you couldn't fold it. I'm sure someone else would like it, we just didn't prefer it. We liked the dry, thin crust; but it was a bit too chewy for us. We'd prefer if it had a bit more give. Of course after trying Ah-Beetz, I am a bit biased. On the note of being biased, I still prefer the crispy light crust from Uncle Fatih's. With that being said, the pizza here at 2001 is still pretty solid in my books.

The Good:
- Ample toppings
- Crust is thin and not oily
- Inexpensive

The Bad:
- Gets a bit busy during lunch hours
- With the large amount of toppings, it gets a bit messy

Finch's Tea & Coffee House

Quite often, I refer to Urbanspoon for my dining destinations. Admittedly, it is not the end-all for all the best places to eat. Thus, I turned to Yelp! this time and found Finch's Tea & Coffee House. In actuality, I already knew about this place; but it was nowhere on my radar. Well... since Vandelay and I were nearby munching on tacos at La Taqueria, I decided to try out their popular Pear, Brie and Prosciutto sandwich. Obviously, there are other items on the menu including breakfast, soups and beverages. But there is no mistaking their signature sandwich.

Seeing that seating was at a premium, I decided to get my order to go. In addition to the sandwich, I got a Tomato Bisque. As I was waiting for my order, I kept thinking to myself about how the picture would turn out if they wrapped up my sandwich. Would it be smushed? Would it look unfresh? My OCD took over and I went up to the counter and asked if they could let me take a picture of it before they wrapped it up. With an excellent picture of the sandwich on my camera, I left happy as a clam.

One bite into the sandwich and as Kevin would put it best, I had a "foodgasm". With taste buds exploding and soft brie oozing out (sorry for the visual), it was really good. A perfect marriage of sweet, salty, aromatic and tart, this sandwich is one of the best I've had in Vancouver. In fact, for about the same price, I'm not even sure why people line up at Salumi in Seattle. Granted they make their own meats there; but this sandwich at Finch's kicks the ones I had at Salumi. The bisque was also quite good. With the taste of fresh tomato and basil, the soup was smooth and not tart at all. It was creamy without being creamy, if that makes any sense. I don't get excited about sandwiches very often; however, you really must try this sandwich out, it'll blow your mind.

The Good:
- Fresh ingredients, freshly made items
- The food just tastes great
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Not cheap
- It's small, go for takeout

La Taqueria

Here we go again... Mexican food. Yes, I am a bit biased when it comes to Mexican cuisine. I've explained it in my Los Compadres post. However, I'm always game to try new places out, especially if others have raved about it. Kevin (604Foodtography) blogged about La Taqueria out on Hastings in Downtown Vancouver. I seem to get quite a few good ideas from him and here Kev, you get all the credit here! I met up with Vandelay at the store early because a lineup usually begins to build after 11:30am. If you want a place to sit, then you'd better make sure to be early, there are not a lot of them.

Another thing, bring cash, they don't take plastic. Doh! Luckily Vandelay is like an ATM and he was able to cover my meal. We both opted for the 4 tacos @ $9.50. There are quite a few to choose from and the ones that caught my eye were the: De Lengua, De Cachette, Pescado and Al Pastor. Translated, these are the Braised Pemberton Meadows Beef Tongue, Braised Chilliwack Pork Cheeks, Grilled Fish with Pico de Gallo and Chilliwack Pork Marinated in Chili, Achiote and Pineapple.

As you may already know, I love tongue. No, not the one Viv gives me (well, okay I do... TMI!); but I love beef/pork tongue. It's especially good when it's cooked until it's nice and tender. Simply garnished with onion and cilantro, the tongue taco was delicious. Honestly, if you've never tried tongue (that sounded funny), this is the best way to do it. It seems that anything "cheek" is on the menu everywhere. I'm glad because that's another one of my favs in the meat department. Generally, the meat in the cheeks are quite tender if cooked properly. And this was no exception with the cheek taco. Again garnished only with onion and cilantro, the braised cheeks were not only tender, they were well seasoned.

Topped with pico de gallo and pickled cabbage, the fish tacos were also outstanding. Why outstanding? The fish was only partially cooked where most of it was still rare. This is perfect since overcooked fish is no better than canned tuna. Lastly, the Chilliwack pork was quite flavourful due to the moderately spicy sweet sauce. The pineapples were a nice flavour addition giving both sweetness and tartness. I'm gonna say it. To me at least, I think these are the best tacos I've had in the GVRD, even better than those at Dona Cata.

The Good:
- Nice selection of tacos
- Perfectly cooked meats
- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:
- Not a lot of places to sit
- Lineups are common